


PlayStation vs. Xbox

by failte



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Conventions, Fluff, Gamers, Inspired by Romeo and Juliet, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:14:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23816722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/failte/pseuds/failte
Summary: Two households, both alike in dignity,In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean,Or whatever...
Relationships: David Jacobs/Jack Kelly
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46
Collections: I love these





	1. Chapter 1

Like every great love story, there’s a feud that dates back generations upon generations. There’s blood and death, war between names. But this isn’t that. There was no blood or death, just wounded prides and people too stubborn to agree that maybe it was dumb.

Nobody knew when it had started but it was only logical. Opposing companies having an axe to grind with the other. They were selling similar products so it made sense for them to want the other to go away or out of business or meet an untimely death (though nobody admitted the latter).

David had grown up with a love for video games. His parents got him a PlayStation 2 when he was 6 years old, only educational games. As he got older, he ventured out, found more games that he enjoyed. He wouldn’t ever admit it but even as he turned 10 and 15, onwards, he still loved 102 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue. It had been a hobby for him, something to pass the time but as he got older, when high school told him to look to the future, to plan for a life and a career, David looked towards the business side of video games. He wanted to do something fun, to enjoy his life.

When he told his parents that he wanted to work for PlayStation, they laughed in his face. They told him that it wasn’t a career, that he had to grow up. They pushed him towards the best college they could afford. He didn’t apply, just to spite them. He did, though, apply for an internship at PlayStation, their homebase in Los Angeles. His mother got the phone call that he got the internship and to be expected, she was mad. But once David was 18 she couldn’t tell him what to do. He packed up and left for PlayStation and that was that.

He started off there as just a coffee getter, people giving him tasks that in no way were any sort of career. The pay was awful and more times than not, David wished he’d taken his mother’s advice. But then he stayed there longer and people above him quit. A boss came to him, arms crossed and face stern.

“Kid, you have any marketing experience?” He asked and David swallowed thickly. He knew it was for a promotion, that this wasn’t going to be some coffee run. This man was going to take him from lowly intern to an actual employee. He shook his head.

“Kind of? I used to have to help my mom at her church bake sales. Little old ladies are easy to sell to, I think?” He tried, hoping that if he could bullshit his way through life enough then maybe, just maybe, he wouldn’t have to go back home to his mom and ask for help. Or worse, become homeless, working some fast food job to try and get scraps to eat in a far too expensive city.

The man didn’t seem too impressed with David’s experience, shrugging after a moment.

“You’re just lucky that I’m desperate,” he said and the grin on David’s face was like no other.

He became part of the marketing team, something that he didn’t realize he had a knack for until he was offered the position. The boss ended up thanking David a few months later, telling him that sales were up since they’d hired him and that he was thoroughly impressed with the amount of effort that David put into the team. After that, David went to the bathroom and phoned his mom.

“Coming home, dear?” She asked, the condescension in her voice made the phone call even sweeter.

“No, Ma, maybe for Christmas. I just wanted to tell you that I got a promotion. I’m working on their marketing team now. My boss just told me that I was a huge help in making their sales go up,” he said, the pride in his voice was beyond obvious. He didn’t give his mother a chance to argue or say anything else.

David remembered when Wendy’s first started using their Twitter page for marketing. They had had a meeting that day, all of the people on David’s team sitting at a table.

“We’re going to start our own Twitter,” the boss said, everyone on the team nodding an okay.

The Twitter page was nothing exciting, really. The boss was disappointed, more so in the fact that the new Twitter page didn’t bring in many sales since the time it had started and when they checked a few days later. They had hundreds of thousands of followers within days but that did them no good.

“Why?” Someone asked at their next meeting, all of them scratching their heads. David was scrolling through their Twitter, trying to see if anything was obvious.

“Is something more important than your job, David?” The boss asked and David shook his head.

“No, I was just looking at our Twitter. I think the issue is that we’re all given the password. We don’t have a set person. There is too many personalities and typing differences on the page. I think that if there was just one person who could respond and post, it would work out better,” he explained, setting his phone down on the table and looking up at everyone. Nobody had any complaints, a few of them even chipping in their agreement. The boss took it into consideration before he nodded too.

“Fine, you’re the new Twitter rep,” he said. A few people gave a weak cheer, everyone else not really minding. David was the youngest on the team, the most competent when it came to social media.

Shortly after PlayStation started using their Twitter, so did Xbox.

It came after the Twitter feud between Wendy’s and McDonalds, one company bashing the other. People would tweet things and mention both companies and David found that when his response got laughs, they got followers and then they got sales.

\- _@thegamingbish_

_game system just shit out on me: @PlayStation or @Xbox?_

_-@PlayStation_

_Would you rather date Rihanna or Chris Brown? #PlayStationForTheWin_

Xbox eventually got onboard with the feud, bashing each other over social media. Their followers seemed to find it funny.

The only person on PlayStations blocked list was Xbox and the only person on Xboxs block list was PlayStation. Neither company was afraid to make that known.

One of the people on David’s team had Xbox on post notification, informing David about some new dig at their company from the Xbox Twitter.

It became a joke but it wasn’t all fun in games. The marketing department expanded to have more people to help David manage the Twitter. People around his age that were good at social media. They had someone for Instagram and someone for Facebook.

It was the younger group of marketing that had started the mantra, at first just a joke when one of them called Xbox players douchebags. They took it further, chanting it each morning before work. It wasn’t long before the whole department took on the mantra, the company following suit in their little joke.

“Who plays Xbox?” One person would ask.

“Douchebags and cheaters,” The rest of the group responded.

“And who plays PlayStation?”  
  


“Good men and winners.”

It was stupid but to them, it was an inside joke, slightly true in their minds but a joke nonetheless.

Along with marketing came conventions. There were all sorts, regular comic conventions, anime conventions, but their biggest opportunity for sales was gaming conventions. PAX was international and one of the most popular for them. They were gearing up to go to PAX West, a 4 day convention where people into all different sorts of games came to play, buy, and socialize.

David was excited to have been picked to go as one of their sales representatives.

“You’re young, you can do the thing with the people,” his boss said, shrugging and looking down for a moment. “Memes,” He whispered, the concept of them lost on him no matter how often David had tried to explain that yes, what he was posting was relevant to people even though it didn’t make sense.

Next thing he knew, he was on a plane flying to Seattle for the convention. The tickets were last minute and much to David’s disappointment, he was separated from the rest of his team.

His plan went from talking the ride away to taking a nap. He was lucky to at least have gotten a window seat, leaning his head against the wall of the plane and closing his eyes. His headphones were already in by the time someone sat down next to him and David didn’t bother to open his eyes to greet them. It was a plane, he felt weird talking to the people next to him. Besides, small talk was the worst thing in David’s opinion.

Even the universal symbol of ‘I want to be left alone’ wasn’t enough for this guy who reached out to poke David’s arm to wake him up. David wasn’t quite asleep but he was as annoyed as if he was.

He pulled a headphone out, looking over to the guy who dared to wake someone. He had a hand out towards David and a soft smile on his face.

“Hi there, my names Jack,” he said and David wondered if murder on a plane would still send him to jail. He decided that yes, he would go to jail and he knew his face was far too pretty for a place like that so he shook the man’s hand.

“David,” he said in return, his hand about ready to bring the headphone to his ear again when Jack continued to talk.

“It’s nice to meet you, where are you headed?” He asked, small talk on big planes. David’s nerves were irritated and he took a deep breath. Although most people didn’t know that he was PlayStation’s Twitter rep, he still had to live up to it. He had to be polite to people because one day, it would come back to him and it would reflect badly on the company. So David put on a smile and tried to remind himself that this guy wasn’t trying to be rude.

And besides, Jack was cute. His personality was a little much for David but cute regardless.

“Just to Seattle,” David said, pausing his music because he knew that Jack was just getting started down a topic to talk about. David’s dreams of naps went out the window as they took off. Jack looked shocked when he said that Seattle was his final destination.

“No way! Me too,” he said, his grin too wide for his face. David tried not to think it but he couldn’t help but admire the beauty of it. “What are you going there for?”

“There’s a convention that I’m going to,” he said, keeping it vague. Like his mother, David had been greeted with a lot of distaste for what he chose as a profession. Many people assumed it was part time or that he’d be fired or that it was some floozy of a job since it had to do with gaming. Plus, PAX West was nerdy, not that he was complaining.

“Really? What are the odds,” Jack said, sitting back in his seat and seeming like he was going to stop talking for a moment. David was reaching for his headphones when Jack sat up again, his mouth opening and David lost all hope for a peaceful ride. “I’m going there for a convention, too. Do you think they’d have two at the same place?” He asked and David was struggling to keep himself from appearing annoyed.

“Who knows,” he said, hoping that if he seemed boring, Jack would stop.

“I’m going to PAX, it’s my first time. I am excited to see all of the stuff. There’s a panel I really want to go to. Oh, sorry, you probably don’t know that. It’s this huge gaming convention that’s there this weekend,” he explained and David’s jaw almost dropped.

“What, really? That’s where I’m going, too,” he said and suddenly, David was far more interested in the conversation.

They spent the two hour flight talking about the pros and cons of their favorite games, finding a mutual love for many and a mutual hatred for a few. Despite David’s first unwillingness to talk, he ended up enjoying himself, having a good time talking with Jack. He was sweet and talkative and it might not have been the first person David would have sought out but they had a lot in common. Plus, David could hardly say no to a cute face and Jack definitely had one. By the time they were walking off the plane, still chatting about games and other stuff, David could officially say he was infatuated.

David intended on asking Jack for his number, figuring he could hunt him down at the show when he got a break from work. David intended on asking before he got into his cab to the hotel but he completely forgot. He only realized when he was in his room, sitting on his bed and staring at his phone like he had had something to do. There was a brief moment of sadness, disappointment even. He’d liked Jack, he was easy to talk to. He thought that they could be friends at the very least (and let his mind wander to what else they could have been). But that was gone.

Shortly after though, he had hope he’d see Jack again. Most people wandered the vendor floor at least once so Jack _had_ to stumble by PlayStation at some point. David would hang around the booth on his breaks if he had to.

But David forgot all of that when he woke up the next morning. He was planning for a busy day, thinking about setting everything up and getting himself into the mindset of selling and being a positive and productive member of his team. He forgot about Jack until he ran into someone, nearly tripping both of them.

“Shit, I’m so sorry,” David said, pulling his jacket down that had gotten out of place. He looked up to find Jack grinning at him.

“Hey, you. Apology accepted,” he said and David felt relief flood him after his worries last night. He quickly pulled his phone out and handed it to Jack.

“Since I forgot to ask last night,” he said, a slight blush on his cheeks that he tried to pretend wasn’t there.

Jack shrugged and put his number in.

“Don’t worry, I was beating myself up last night about forgetting to ask yours.”

They were walking into the show together, Jack chatting away. It was too early for them to be letting guests in, the only people allowed in the building so far were vendors.

“You’re working here?” David finally asked and Jack grinned.

“Yup, guess we both forgot to mention it,” he said and David nodded. David usually didn’t lead with the fact that he worked for PlayStation. Not that he wasn’t proud of it, but for the fact that a lot of people had really strong opinions about their gaming system. He didn’t want to ruin a friendship over the fact that he worked for PlayStation.

They kept walking together, entering the main floor. David was impressed. The fact that Jack walked onto that floor like he belonged meant he worked for a big company which was great. They turned down the same aisles and David started to wonder if Jack worked here or was just spending as much time with David as he could.

David saw the PlayStation booth and was a little disappointed that he couldn’t stay and talk.

“This is me,” David said, unzipping his coat. He was wearing the mandatory bright blue shirt with the company logo on it. Jack stared for a moment, unzipping his own jacket.

He wore a bright green shirt with bold letters on it that read Xbox. They stood next to each other, their booths opposite each other. David realized his fatal mistake.

“I have to go,” he said, scurrying to his own table quickly while all of his coworkers gave him puzzled looks.

“Why were you with an Xbox guy? You guys seemed friendly. Who is he?” David just shrugged, feeling slightly betrayed. Why hadn’t Jack lead with the fact that he had worked for Xbox? David could have avoided the embarrassment of showing up with the enemy.

The logical part of his brain knew that Jack probably didn’t immediately announce that he was with Xbox for the same reason that David didn’t immediately announce that he worked for PlayStation. They were rivals for a reason.

They were part way through the first day and sales had been slow. David was talking with his team, brainstorming what they could do to boost some sales.

“A sale?” One suggested and they all scratched their heads.

“No, they didn’t authorize any last minute sales.”

“What if David posted a photo on Twitter?”

“Of a PlayStation?” David asked, giving his coworker an odd look, “Don’t you think that they already know what it looks like?”

A couple of the guys looked at each other, raising their eyebrows and laughing a little uncomfortably. One of the girls finally spoke up, leaning over the table with a flirty smile on her face.

“No, David, I think they meant your face. You know, you’re pretty cute, I’d bet they’d try and flirt,” she said and the intended meaning went over David’s head for a moment. There was a visible moment of realization when he figured out what she had meant.

  
“Oh,” he said, mulling it over for a moment, “Is that allowed?” Everyone just shrugged and then they were setting up an impromptu photoshoot inside their booth.

  
He kept getting moved around, being told that the lighting wasn’t right. They messed with his hair, with his pose. He kept looking over to the Xbox booth, all of them staring, puzzled, while David got situated.

They found a spot where they thought it was perfect. They tousled his hair, slightly messy but someone said sex hair was in. They moved David slightly until the light hit his eye, one of the girls squealing and saying how _gorgeous_ his eyes were. He just shrugged because he’d never noticed or thought much of it.

“So post that? And say what?” He asked, looking down at his phone with the new photo. He had to admit, it wasn’t that bad of a photo, sort of pleased with himself at how he looked.

“Say like ‘come by a brand new PlayStation and chat with me,’” someone suggested, smirking at him. “Maybe you could even get yourself a date.”

“So, I’m a prostitute now for this company?” He asked, a little incredulous. He didn’t think that his looks were good enough to get the attention that they were implying. They just laughed and urged him to do it anyway. David sighed, figuring that it couldn’t hurt anything.

_-@PlayStation_

_Come grab a brand new PlayStation and chat with me at PAX West :)_

David hadn’t anticipated the response from his photo.

_-@thatgirloverthere_

_who wld have known PS guy was hot af_

_-@falloutnerd_

_wow, suddenly ive gone gay_

_-@gamrgrlz_

_why has god cursed me to be on the other side of the planet ;-;_

David also hadn’t anticipated that his tweet would actually work.

Girls and guys alike swarmed to the booth, throwing money at the PlayStation employees and all of them batting their eyelashes at David. He’d never had so many people hit on him at once, telling him they had a hotel room upstairs that he was welcome to if he got a break. They said that there’s a bathroom if he only gets a quick break, everything in between.

He politely didn’t entertain their thoughts but instead tried his hardest to make conversation as innocent as possible for the sake of his coworkers. The crowd of people did its job to keep him from being able to see Jack, though.

The Xbox employees all stared at the booth across from them, jaws hitting the floor.

“How did they get so many people? It’s been slow all day and suddenly?” Jack asks, eyebrows scrunched. They’d made sales, it wasn’t like they were doing no business but they weren’t doing _that_ good and it felt like PlayStation was rubbing it in their faces. “Do they have some sale going on that just started?” He asked, feeling like he should unblock their Twitter so that he could check himself. One of his friends pulled out their phone, looking down at it.

“No sale, just a photo of their Twitter rep. Damn, he’s cute,” he said and Jack snatched the phone away from his coworker, looking down to see the same person he’d been sitting with on the plane all day, only to realize was his rival this morning. He frowned, reading the tweet over and over, a little annoyed that David was stooping low enough to use desperate men and women for sales. He was also annoyed that he hadn’t come up with it sooner.

Jack’s photo shoot took far less micromanaging. He sat down and had someone snap his pose.

His hair was fluffy on top, looking away from the camera like fake candid shot of him pulling a piece of hair back. He made it black and white and shrugged as he posted it, copying exactly what David had said but instead of PlayStation, it said Xbox.

The PlayStation crew watched as people flooded over to Xbox, throwing money at them the way they had to David. Before the words even left David’s mouth, a phone was shoved in front of his face, the Xbox tweet already open.

_-@Xbox_

_Come grab a brand new Xbox and chat with me at PAX West :)_

He wasn’t sure if he should be mad that Xbox copied him or the fact that Xbox was run by Jack. He stared down at the photo that made him look far too good and David wished that they weren’t on opposing companies. He had the sudden urge to run over and pull him into a kiss and then pull him somewhere more private.

But he didn’t. He sat in his booth, glaring across the aisle with the rest of his team, all of them talking smack about Jack and Xbox. Jack gave them a cheeky wave, the smirk on his face all too knowing of what he was doing.

David wanted to start fresh on Saturday. It was a brand new day and he wanted to put everything into the past and forget. He would have done exactly that, forgotten Jack, forgotten about him stealing David’s own idea for the Twitter but he couldn’t. This was bigger than him.

Neither him nor Jack expected the convention to get involved and when his phone blew up with mentions on Twitter and texts from his friend, he was pretty much ready to jump on a plane and fly home.

_-@PAXWest_

_It seems that Romeo and Juliet had found themselves at the Seattle Convention Center #Love #HowRomantic_

_-@PAXWest_

_Come buy a ticket and watch this love story unfold!_

There were two photos posted with the tweet. One was of the day before when they didn’t know who worked for which company. David had his head ducked, cheeks red and a cheesy grin on his face, hands buried deep in his jacket pockets. Jack was looking at David with an infatuated look, it was hard for David to be angry at PAX West for making a joke of it. They looked like they mere madly in love.

The second photo was them staring at each other after their jackets had come off, the moment when David realized he’d talked with the enemy and the moment when Jack made it a game.

He couldn’t avoid his coworkers forever and their cackling at being dubbed the new thing to watch at the convention. He had girls and guys alike coming up and asking him about Jack, about what he’s like and it bothered David. He kept saying they weren’t together, they weren’t talking, and he didn’t even like the dude. They’d snicker and shake their heads and look down at their phones and what David assumed were the photos.

It took 10 minutes for the managers of PAX West to realize what their Twitter reps had done before the tweets were deleted but unfortunately for David (and fortunately for Jack), the damage had already been done. Screenshots had already been taken and within an hour the hashtag #PAXWestLoveStory was trending on Twitter. He had giggling girls at the table and people standing in the aisle looking between the two like they expected Jack and David to dive over their tables and furiously make out with each other which, if you asked David, was definitely not ever going to happen.

David did his best to ignore all of Xbox, though. The tweets were bad enough already but David had a job to do and he’d be damned if he let some silly not-crush get in the way of that. He loved his company and he did not want to let them down.

He was doing good at ignoring everyone until a massive crowd around the Xbox table formed. That would have been fine except that it blocked the aisle and everyone in the crowd was looking at Xbox, not PlayStation. It blocked all of the workers into their booth and even as tall as David was on his tippy toes, he couldn’t see over their heads. They tried to listen, there had to be some Xbox announcement going on.

“We’ll copy them like they did to us, yeah?” One of David’s friends asked and David nodded. Jack went low first, David was just making the game fair.

Screaming started, girls freaking out about whatever they saw and the only thing that came to David’s mind was Jack was giving a strip tease.

Turns out, a few minutes later when his Twitter blew up, that it was not a strip tease. Much worse, in fact.

He was tagged hundreds of times in a video. All of the tweets were incoherent capitals with a few readable words mixed in. It mostly consisted of “OH MY GOD” and the like.

The video was just Jack. He was sat on the edge of their table, smiling at the crowd that the camera of the video couldn’t see. He reached behind the table and pulled out a guitar, smiling, looking bashful. David scoffed as did the workers looking over his shoulder.

“This is for David, my Juliet,” Jack said before he started strumming his guitar, the song starting up. There was a brief moment of shame when he recognized it instantly.

_“That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,_

_And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet."_

_And I was crying on the staircase_

_Begging you, "Please don't go."_

_And I said..._

_Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone._

_I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run._

_You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,_

_It's a love story, baby, just say ‘Yes.’”_

The song finished out with a bashful smile and the video cut off as the screaming started. David was left, face red, as his coworkers struggled to make sense of things. He knew that Jack was doing this to get under David’s skin and David was mad that it worked. David wanted to continue hating Jack. He wanted to hate everything he stood for, his face, his personality, he wanted to be rid of the man. But he couldn’t.

He had sat next to Jack on the plane, fell for how sweet he was even if it bordered on annoying. He liked Jack’s face, liked when he smiled. He loved that Jack could sing, that even if it was just some intense infatuation with the man, he wanted him. He wanted to dive across the table and furiously make out with Jack, wanted to hold him close and take him home. He wanted Jack to sing that song again but this time sitting on one of their beds, just the two of them. No cameras and no girls to scream and cheer, just them with red cheeks and bashful smiles.

He wanted it all even if Jack was Xbox and he was PlayStation. They were Romeo and Juliet and David couldn’t have ignored it anymore.

“Hey, what the hell? Why do I have to be Juliet?” David yelled when the realization dawned on him. He’d been so caught up in his thoughts that it slipped his mind. As did the girls taking photos.

The Twitter reps for PAX West had started something and now that it had begun, they weren’t going to stop.

_-@PAXWest_

_Juliet is looking a little in love, wouldn’t you say? #PAXWestLoveStory_

_-@PAXWest_

_We’ll keep you updated on the love story as it unfolds! Our best is on the hunt #PAXWestLoveStory_

The photo attached with the tweets was David, blushing and staring at his phone. He knew it was when he was watching Jack sing.

It wasn’t a secret in the PlayStation booth and as hard as David had tried to deny it, the evidence was right there. They could all plainly see the half smile that wasn’t there but obvious at the same time.

David left for his hotel annoyed and half in love. He wanted so badly to hate Jack. He wanted to with everything he had but he couldn’t. Jack was cute and had the voice of an angel, he dedicated a song to David and it was all too much.

He wanted to talk to Jack. In person, was best, but he didn’t want to sneak around the hotel. He figured he would text Jack, ask if they could talk tomorrow but he remembered that in a fit of rage after he first found out who Jack worked for, he’d deleted Jack’s number.

He was left with one option. Twitter.

David sent a message and it was bland. A simple ‘Hey’ because he didn’t know how else to start. He realized after an hour of staring at the black screen of his phone that Xbox, like PlayStation, must get a lot on their inbox. David never checked his own, that was for sure. But David didn’t want to be unsuccessful. He didn’t want to go to sleep tonight, wondering if anything would happen tomorrow. He was sure that it would. Jack seemed like he’d jump at any opportunity to watch David swallow his pride and face the fact that they were both into each other.

David knew he’d have to swallow his pride and knew that no matter what, it was going to be public.

_-@PlayStation_

_@Xbox check ur dms_

Bad grammar of course to make it seem like a joke. The immediate response to his tweet made it obvious to him that nobody thought it was a joke. Jack’s reply came a minute later.

_Hey ;)_

David scoffed at the nerve and his cheeks darkened.

_Look, I know that I’ve been avoiding you and I might have been a bit of a dick but could we talk tomorrow? You’re pretty damn cute and I had such a good time on the plane. I think we need to get over this rivalry thing…_

David knew that what he was saying was dumb. The rivalry came from PlayStation. Xbox never once contributed. Jack played along anyway.

_Oh, David wants to see me? I’d love to but tomorrow is usually our busiest day. I tell you what, I’ll do the best I can ;)_

_Totally cool. Maybe when this is all over and we’re back home we could get a drink sometime? I wouldn’t mind seeing you again._

Jack agreed and then that was the end of their messaging.

It was Sunday morning when David was informed that there was a Seattle news station out front of the convention center. People were being interviewed that had hastily made Xbox and PlayStation shirts, cosplaying as Jack and David. They held hands and giggled and kissed on camera, the news reporter eating it up.

“Just look at the Chemistry! This is Channel 6 with the latest of our modern day Romeo and Juliet, back to you,” she said.

David saw clips of it throughout the day and he was a little shocked at how quick people took to it. He didn’t know what to think with all of the attention directly on him. He was a little appalled. The worst part of it all was the nosy “fans” who wanted details of their nonexistent relationship.

_-@intermission_musician_

_@PlayStation are u and @Xbox going to see each other after the con? #PAXWestLoveStory_

_-@Playstation_

_@intermission_musician Of course not. We aren’t even friends, I plan on never seeing him again._

_-@Xbox_

_@PlayStation @intermission_musician Funny, that’s not what you were saying last night._

There was a photo attached to Xbox’s tweet. It was a screenshot of the messages from the previous night where David asked if Jack would see him for drinks after they were home. He was standing in the PlayStation booth staring at his phone, the rest of his coworkers staring at him. Since the whole love story had come out, everyone had the two Twitters on post notification. Everyone knew.

“If you’re going to see an Xbox guy, at least have decency not to so blatantly lie about it,” one of his coworkers laughed before everyone started laughing.

It made for a long day of incessant teasing and suggestive looks. People came up to ask about Jack and David got to a point where he was so annoyed that he snapped.

“Buy a PlayStation and I’ll answer,” he said. He didn’t want the attention on him anymore. He wanted to do his job and have everyone forget about what has happened so he could sneak off and talk to Jack without the fear of it blowing up.

There was a lull in the crowd and David looked up to find Jack looking at him from across the aisle. Jack nodded his head towards where the exit, eyes darting to the doors for a moment. David tried to cover up the small smile creeping up on his face as he watched Jack slip from his own booth and towards the door. David tried to do the same, someone catching him by the arm. He looked back at them, trying to come up with an excuse.

“I have to piss,” David blurted, trying to meet their eyes. His coworker wasn’t looking at him though. She was looking behind him. David turned to find Jack at the door waiting, eyes on David expectantly.

“We’re busy, you need to stay,” she said, pulling David back to the middle of the booth. There wasn’t anyone even in line to buy.

It kept happening throughout the day. Anytime that he’d try and sneak away to talk things out with Jack someone would stop him. It was always the same dumb excuse.

“Please, I actually need to use the restroom this time,” David said, frowning when they pulled him back.

He did get to go use the restroom after some serious begging. When he started to look like he was in pain they decided that maybe he wasn’t lying.

Of course, while he was out of the booth, he took that opportunity to meet Jack for a moment.

They stepped out into a hall that was mostly vacant, standing close so they could whisper like it was illegal for the two of them to be together let alone talking.

“Did you mean what you said on Twitter?” Jack asked, a slight frown on his face. David could see now through the facade of confidence. It seemed that Jack wasn’t all just jokes and teasing, he genuinely wanted to talk to David and get to know him even with opposing companies being their employers. David gave him a small smile before nodding.

“Yeah, I did mean it. Maybe this whole rivalry is dumb. I shouldn’t judge you because you work for a bad company,” he said, laughing when Jack smacked his arm.

“Really?”

“Look, I had a good time on the plane. You were nice and fuck it, I like you, okay?” David said, dropping his hatred because he knew it was dumb. He wanted to talk with Jack the way they had on the plane, wanted to see him at home where they could be themselves and have fun. He didn’t want to miss out on something that could be amazing just because he didn’t like the company that Jack was working for.

David stopped caring about the world as he leaned in and kissed Jack softly, smiling against Jack’s lips when the action was returned.

But there was the snap of a camera and when the two turned to look, all they saw was someone ducking around a corner and disappearing. David wanted to laugh, maybe cry. He wasn’t very good with being at the forefront of people's attention and when he liked someone, he didn’t appreciate it being blasted on social media. But it was happening exactly that way.

Nothing specific had changed by Monday morning. He still worked for PlayStation and Jack still worked for Xbox. They were still rivals.

But David still liked Jack.

Maybe that was what had changed.

He stopped caring if his coworkers laughed or called him out.

And another thing that changed: the ridiculous amount of dirty and suggestive texts being sent to his phone.

David wanted to focus on his job but Jack was making it hard. Figuratively and literally.

It was the last day of the convention and sales came in waves. It would get busy for all of 10 minutes before the crowd died off. When it died off was the worst for David. He’d look up and over to the Xbox stand where Jack would nod his head to the side and smirk, eyes darting over to the bathrooms like he wanted something. He did want something and David was starting to want it to. His coworkers all knew and asked him to do menial tasks to get him to stay.

“Can you pack up the extra banner?” One girl asked, turning to a customer who walked up with their card out and a smile on their face. He gave his coworker a look, raising his eyebrows.

“The con isn’t even over. We don’t even have that much to pack up. We can just do it after,” he said and everyone knew it was the truth but wouldn’t agree.

“I’m just gonna go to the restroom,” David said, rolling his eyes when they all gave him a look like they knew better. They did know better. He wasn’t exactly being subtle. He’d blush when he looked down at his phone, pull his jacket down so it covered his crotch. They all knew.

It was lunch when David realized he was an adult and he didn’t have to ask for permission. It seemed dumb to him, that he was so worried about what his coworkers thought. Yes, they were friends, but he didn’t have to let them dictate his life, they didn’t get the final say in who he did or didn’t get to see.

Even more, they didn’t get to tell him when he got a bathroom break (even though this wasn’t a bathroom break and more of a ‘I want some fucking’ break). He was a damn adult and he didn’t understand why it took him so long to get to that conclusion but he was there now. He gave Jack a look and a small smile before he told his coworkers he was going to the restroom.

“But customers,” they tried and David raised his eyebrows, looking at the aisle which was void of any paying customers. A few lookers but everyone knew they were just there to look, hands already full of bags and wallets obviously empty.

“You can manage,” he said before slipping out of the booth.

He did duck around a corner before stopping to wait for Jack, a small part of him wanting it to be a secret still, not public view yet because they weren’t boyfriends, just friends. They weren’t doing anything besides having some fun. David was okay with that. It seemed Jack was too as he took David’s hand and pulled him into the restroom, not caring about the weird looks as they both went into a stall.

_-@PAXWest_

_It seems that Romeo and Juliet have plans #PAXWestLoveStory_

There was a photo attached with it of the two of them just before they ducked into the bathroom together.

Jack’s phone was vibrating in his pocket as he dropped to his knees, working David’s pants open easily as he grinned up at David. They were both half hard, too many thoughts running through their head to help it. They thought of what it could be and now they were thinking of what it will be.

David bit his lip as he felt Jack’s hand on his cock, pulling it out and stroking him slowly, that same grin on his face as he looked up at David, licking his lips when he looked at the cock in front of his face. It made David weak in the knees. This wasn’t his first encounter but it was definitely his most eager. He’d never been with someone who _wanted_ him the way Jack did. And maybe it was purely sexual desire but David was in the same boat right then. He wanted Jack in the same way and maybe he was the most eager.

David reached out, pressing his fingers to Jack’s lips, pushing his mouth open, implying silently for Jack to hurry. It didn’t take any more questioning for Jack, though, leaning forward and wrapping his lips around the head of David’s cock. His eyes closed like it was the best thing he’d had in his mouth in years. The eagerness was a turn on for David, a small whimper leaving his mouth that he couldn’t have muffled even if he saw it coming.

He watched Jack take more into his mouth, inch by inch until his nose pressed against David’s stomach. His mouth was warm and his tongue was just as eager and David reached out to grab Jack’s hair, tugging gently as he fought with himself to keep from moaning.

He could hear men coming in and out of the bathroom, urinals flushing and faucets turning on as they washed their hands. He could hear the way they paused, feet pointed towards the stall and then quickly leaving when they realized what was happening. But they weren’t the first to borrow a stall to get off and they sure as hell wouldn't be the last. Nobody commented, just left them to their business.

“Keep this up and I won't last,” David mumbled, cheeks red as he watched Jack’s head move, hands grabbing at David’s hips. Jack pulled off, tongue moving over the head of David’s cock for a moment before smirking up at him.

“What, too good?” He teased, licking his lips. David almost hated how into it Jack was.

David responded with an indignant snort, looking away for a moment.

“I figured neither of us have enough time to drag this out. Keep your word and after our drink we can make it last a while longer,” Jack suggested. David didn’t feel it deserved a vocal response, agreeing simply by tugging Jack closer by his hair and sighing when his had Jack’s mouth on him again.

Jack pulled his own cock out then, already hard, his hand moving over his own cock quickly because he was enjoying it just as much as David.

“Make this good enough and I’ll return it sometime.” David teased, knowing fully that if they met up again he would definitely find his way to his knees without much hesitation. Jack moaned around David’s cock, the idea of that seemingly good enough for him.

David usually made it a point to keep his orgasm pushed away for as long as he could manage, usually wanting to have it end with someone’s dick in someone's ass but this wasn’t that time. They were already caught and coworkers were probably back at the booth with knowing looks and crossed arms so David let his orgasm creep up quickly. He didn’t feel bad because Jack looked like he was the same, his hand slowing drastically after a few moments, squeezing gently as he tried to push his orgasm off just a little while longer.

“You mind?” David asked, voice tense and teeth clenched because he’d already decided to just let himself finish and with Jack’s eager mouth it was coming up quick. Jack didn’t pull off, instead moving closer, taking more into his mouth, tongue brushing along the underside of David’s cock like he was asking for David to do it right then. He did.

He also watched as Jack came too, his come landing on the floor and some of it on his jeans. Their moans matched each other’s besides Jack’s muffled around David.

David smoothed out Jack’s hair while he was still on his knees, feeling slightly bad for messing it up when they were still in public, laughing as Jack cleaned them both up before standing. Their cheeks were both red and they both had easy going smiles.

“You meant what you said about drinks on Twitter, right?” Jack asked, the slight doubt in his voice would have saddened David if he wasn’t stuck in a post-orgasm haze.

“Yeah, fuck it, I want to see you again,” David answered, wondering how he could feel miles better after Jack’s smile.


	2. Epilogue

** Year one **

After the popularity of last year’s events, people were buying tickets to PAX West to see if Romeo and Juliet were still together. The hashtag trended on Twitter again as people who were too far from Seattle questioned the same thing.

After the convention, Jack and David both kept their Twitter professional, ignoring inquiries about their relationship because they’d both been reprimanded for going away from the sale specifically of their device. Of course, they weren’t reprimanded too hard because the attention boosted sales for both companies.

PAX West loved the attention though. They were selling out of tickets faster than any other year and nobody could deny that the massive amounts of green and blue shirts holding hands was iconic. PlayStation and Xbox had to add “STAFF” to their shirts to mark the difference between cosplay and actual employee.

Even Jack’s impromptu concert became iconic. Before the convention, PAX West reached out and asked if he’d be willing to do a mini concert. There was always a stage present at the convention, usually for panels of gamers to talk about their upcoming game and other things in between. But, nobody could deny that Xbox’s space was too small for the amount of people who wanted to watch Jack sing about David (hopefully, they were all hoping). So of course, Jack agreed. It was just one more chance to thoroughly embarrass David.

He made his way onto the stage on the second day of the convention, smiling as a crowd formed around him. He hadn’t expected his joke to take off last year but it had and people wanted more. He thought it was funny.   
  
Jack had prepared a few songs. The convention gave him 15 minutes to pretty much spend his time how he wanted but of course, Love Story made the cut. He had to bring it back. His plan was to play it first since the burning question here and on Twitter was “Are Romeo and Juliet still together?”

He’d barely lifted his guitar before a man in the audience started shouting, interrupting him.

“Are you still with PlayStation?!” He yelled and the question was off guard but Jack had the answer on the tip of his tongue.

“Fuck yes,” he said, laughing when the crowd screamed. He could see the phones above heads, videotaping his mini concert.

David was in the audience, trying to blend in but the way Jack looked to one place in the audience gave him away. His cheeks were red and cameras were in his face.

“Capturing your reaction,” one girl said and David just let it slide.

Jack started with Love Story, eyes on David and then never looked away.

** Year two **

It seemed that PAX West was making it a tradition from there on out. Jack’s guitar was already on his packing list before they messaged him, asking if he’d do it again.

From what Jack could tell, the same man interrupted him again.

“Are y’all still together?!”

“Fuck yes,” was his answer, grinning when the crowd, more so blue and green this year, started screaming.

He kept it mostly the same, changing the songs to match what was relevant that year, keeping up with the trends. He played Love Story first as he had the year before.

** Year three **

He loved his thing.

Jack’s 15 minutes of fame to profess his love for David. It felt a little unreal to him.

As always, that same man yelled, asking if they were still together. And as always, Jack responded with an overly enthusiastic yes. The crowd cheered and both of their smiles were blinding, full of happiness.

“And,” Jack started, grinning down at David as he responded to the man, “We’re living together now too.”

He played Love Story first like always, eyes on David as he asked to be taken away where they could be alone together.

** Year four **

Jack’s heart swelled when he was on stage. He was starting to look forward to it every year. He’d spent weeks talking about it to David, going on and on about how happy it made him that they had fans, that people cheered on their relationship, looked forward to seeing them happy.

David wasn’t as vocal about it but he felt the same. He felt an overwhelming happiness when people cheered for them. He had a group that he liked to consider friends that loved him and loved his boyfriend and loved _them._ When he thought of his happiest moment, he thought of PAX West with his boyfriend on stage, singing to him what had become their song. As cheesy as it was and as dumb as it sounded, he loved every second.

The first chord to Love Story played and both Jack and David could barely contain their smiles.

** Year five **

Jack had been acting weird for weeks. In his defense, he was always weird but David had noticed it was extra weird. He was quieter, he kept to himself when usually he’d hang off David day and night. He was usually clingy, usually grabby. He wanted to cuddle when they sat down, when they went to bed, he demanded kisses all hours of the day. He even woke David up one night at two am, claiming he missed David’s lips.

But the last couple of weeks, they’d barely touched. David had always thought it was a tad bit annoying, (not that he’d say to Jack. He didn’t want to break his spirits. It was cute in its own annoying way and he didn’t specifically want it to stop). Now that it was gone though, he missed touch more than anything. He even began to try to initiate it. He’d go to Jack asking to hold hands when they were walking down the street and was put off when Jack’s hands went to his pockets.

They went to PAX West as usual, going to their separate booths and when it came time for the mini concert, David was more on edge than usual.

He knew by nature he was a pessimistic person. He thought little of life and jumped to the worst conclusion usually. But he didn’t feel like he was jumping very far when he thought that his relationship with Jack was over. He stood in the same spot like he always did. He always wanted it to be easy for Jack to find him. He liked that. Jack usually did too.

The same man as every year asked if they were still together. Phones were in the air, people still live streaming the event for the ones curious of Romeo and Juliet were still a couple. And usually, Jack said yes. Usually.

This time, he didn’t answer.

Usually he started with Love Story.

This time, he started with a cover from Sam Smith.

It was sad and slow and the sinking feeling in David’s stomach made him feel like he’d be sick. Eyes turned to look at him, asked him what was going on but he was afraid if he opened his mouth he’d vomit. He was afraid that if he voiced his fears that he’d burst into tears and make a scene.

But underneath all of that, he was mad at Jack for making this public. Their whole relationship was public. If they broke up, everyone would know and find out and talk about it. David knew that. But for Jack to get on stage and do it while phones recorded, more now that his pattern had changed, it was just evil.

Jack got down from the stage, walking through the crowd as he sang. There were phones in his face and he smiled politely. He weaved in and out of people, stopping in front of David.

When they made eye contact, the song he had been singing stopped mid-sentence. He looked terrified and David looked upset. The people around them were dead silent, wondering what would happen next.

David was genuinely taken by surprise when Jack started singing. The song changed.

_ “He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, _

_ And said ‘marry me juliet, _

_ You’ll never have to be alone, _

_ I love you and that’s all I really know, _

_ I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress, _

_ It’s a love story baby just say ‘yes’’” _

Jack was on his knees in front of David and he stopped strumming after he finished the altered chorus. He set the guitar down next to him, no ring in his pocket but a sheepish smile on his face as he looked up at David, waiting for an answer.

The crowd waited, dead silent. David was thrown for a loop. He had expected the worst, only realizing the odd behavior was so David didn’t get tipped off, so it would be a surprise. He was thrown for a loop because the feeling of crying was still there but now he was overwhelmingly happy again, more so than he’d ever been before standing in this crowd.

Jack got to his feet nervously at the prolonged silence and David took that opportunity to throw his arms around Jack.

“Yes!”


End file.
